Rosewell Ruins

One of colonial America's grandest mansions, Rosewell was built 1725-1738 and gutted by fire in 1916. Four massive chimneys, one wall, and a vaulted cellar are now silent witnesses to history. Stabilized, but not rebuilt, Rosewell allows visitors to inspect 18th-century brickwork from a perspective that no intact building can offer. The Rosewell mansion was the centerpiece of a 3000-acre plantation where slaves grew tobacco and grain. Countless artifacts now lie beneath its soil. While preservation and archaeology are ongoing, there are no plans to rebuild the mansion. It is left to the imagination to reconstruct it as known to Gov. John Page and his friend Thomas Jefferson.